” Energized” “Inspired” “Empowered”
These are the words attendees of this past weekend’s Winning Campaigns Training used to describe the results of the workshop. Over three days, 25 advocacy leaders representing 11 organizations and 3 states gathered in Athens to learn from the Alliance for Biking & Walking – and from each other – how to define, develop, and execute a “winning campaign.”
Over the course of the weekend, we defined our issues, set long and short-term goals, created messaging strategies , and developed tactics and budgets for achieving real improvements to biking and walking conditions in communities throughout the southeast. Between all the work, we enjoyed sublime spring weather with walking meetings, a bike tour of the Athens Greenway, and a New Belgium-sponsored social at the BikeAthens Bike Recycling Program facility.
The end result: nine winnable campaigns for signage, driver education, dedicated funding, and innovative infrastructure for communities from Greenville, SC to Birmingham, AL and all across Georgia.
Julie Smith, an attendee from Rome, GA, said “This is a program that I will heartily recommend to other bike/ped advocates, and we will continue to go back to the [Training] workbook and blueprint for future campaigns.”
Our sincerest thanks to the Alliance trainers for such a valuable workshop, to the attendees who spent much of a gorgeous weekend in a classroom, and to our local Training sponsors and supporters: Koons Design, New Belgium Brewing Company, and Jittery Joe’s Coffee.
Watch for great things from these participating organizations: